Ragland’s grandfather, Fred Chance, says the news hit his grandson hard as the truck was one of his most loved possessions. “He had a bunch of stuff in the tool box.. his military gear and what have you, he had it all fixed up. You know how a man is with his pick-up.”

Chance goes onto say that anyone could clearly tell the truck belonged to a man serving in the Armed Forces. “The reason I say that is because she [Ragland’s wife] had a sign in the front yard that said she was thinking of him because he was gone, with a yellow ribbon.”

Ragland had just finished close to $1,000 in repairs to the truck before it was stolen. His family does have access to another vehicle until they can get the truck replaced — it was insured.

“The thing that upsets me about the whole thing is that he won’t have [a truck] when he gets back home,” says Chance, “you know here he is protecting this persons freedom and that’s the way he repays him by stealing his truck.”